The route begins at the Hauptbahnhof, where it climbs a steep ramp before crossing the tracks of the main lines to Berlin and to Lübeck.

After running on a concrete viaduct, on which, Hammerbrook station is located, the line crosses the southern freight railway bypass and the Northern Elbe bridge.

After this station there is a change in electrical systems, where S-Bahn trains switch from third rail to overhead wire electrification.

After the founding of the Hamburg Transport Association in 1967, locomotive-hauled trains provided S-Bahn services on the route, marketed as line S3.

Neugraben station was expanded to five platform tracks and its late nineteenth reception building was replaced with an interchange in the concrete style of the 1980s.

An extension of the S-Bahn to the densely populated area of Fischbek was dropped so as not to undermine the viability of the newly established shopping centre in Neugraben.